Cal Thomas: Self-evident truths

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 4th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. WORLD commentator Cal Thomas now…with a reading recommendation for this 4th of July.

CAL THOMAS: It's called the Declaration of Independence, meaning independence from England. It's always worth reviewing the Declaration, because it served as the philosophical and spiritual foundation of the Constitution.

Consider again: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

There's a lot to unpack in that one paragraph. But today, we are in practice believing something far different from what the Founders believed. Are truths “self -evident” anymore? All the evidence appears to suggest not. In fact, to quote Pontius Pilate, the rhetorical question today seems to be, “what is truth?”

Truth has become personal, not objective. What about all of us being “created equal?” Evolutionists disagree on the creation part because it implies a creator. “Endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.” Too many now believe rights come from government, which tells us what we can and cannot do. For many, government has become a false god.

“The right to life…” not for the unborn. “Liberty,” in too many circumstances, has become license. “Pursuing happiness” is grasping at clouds. Contentment is better than happiness, which comes and goes. America is officially 248 years old this July 4th. As I wrote in a previous book, “America's Expiration Date,” great empires and superpowers, on average, last a mere 250 years.

There are exceptions, but all follow the same path to either their demise or irrelevance. That path includes massive national debt, which we have, uncontrolled immigration, which we have, and the loss of a shared moral value system. Does anyone disagree we have that in abundance? Scripture and history warn what happens to nations and individuals that forget God.

I recall something evangelist Billy Graham said many years ago. “America is not at a crossroads as some say. America is a long way down the wrong road and needs to come back to the crossroads and take the right road.” That was a self-evident truth when he said it. And it is today. Happy 248th birthday, America.

Revival seems to be the only option that can truly save us, and that will not come from any politician, only from our Creator.

I'm Cal Thomas.

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